4 ms·

Why would that be surprising? For a single programmer working alone Git is an incredibly complicated tool. P.S.: A lot of you are confusing "complicated" with

Why would that be surprising? For a single programmer working alone Git is an incredibly complicated tool. P.S.: A lot of you are confusing "complicated" with "difficult".

Pet_Ant 5y ago
Or any other is the point. I mean even locally I depend on commits as save points to just allow me to go crazy and experiment with the code. I mean you can just copy the codebase elsewhere as backup but using git or mercurial is easier than that.
- nolok 5y ago
  Not saying you're wrong, but to explain "how is that possible over 20 years without ever blowing things up": he says he uses visual studio since the beggining (the full blown ide). Since he's working alone, he can easily use the local backup feature of it, which allow to easily rollback to automatically made copies of files, diff and cherry pick between current and backups, etc ... It's basically done automatically for you. As long as you save your project regularly and don't need to merge code with anyone, it can go a long way.
AstralStorm 5y ago
Actually extremely easy. Git add -a, git commit, git push. It only gets complicated if you try to do complicated things.
- nhooyr 5y ago
  I believe it's: git add -A With a capital A.
kapp_in_life 5y ago
Is it? That's when git is simplest, having a single branch and never merging removes most of the complexities of git.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  Sure, but it also removes most of the reason to use Git.
  - potatoman22 5y ago
    In my experience, most people use git as version control. Branching etc is very useful, but not necessary for a 1-person project.
    - flatiron 5y ago
      It is if you want to bug fix released items but keep steam rolling features for the next version.
    - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
      I find branching useful whilst working on my own, I certainly wouldn't want to go back to CVS/SVN.
  - hhjinks 5y ago
    Don't underestimate all the useful information a complete git log contains, even for solo developers. You can look years back and find out exactly why a change was made.
  - emteycz 5y ago
    I invite you to try using Git as much as possible for two weeks. After a week I started using Git for branching out of my main branch to test several different ideas and then compare them at once with other developers - colleagues or friends. I think that moved the meetings and discussions with my teammates up a level.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
      I have used Git when working with FOSS projects, and I tried using it for my own but it never took. The sort of workflow it is built for just isn't how I like to do things when I work on my own.
fatbird 5y ago
Change history, if nothing else. That alone brings a ton of benefit, from being able to view earlier versions, to recovering from mistakes or lost code. If you have a remote repo then, you can also have offsite backups. If you never branch, it's still massively worth it.
- asciimov 5y ago
  Does git have benefits, yes. Are git commands obtuse and unfriendly, yes. The problem is that git is not intuitive and isn't automatic. I've seen more people loose code to git than be saved by having their repo offsite.
wisemanwillhear 5y ago
While Git is not without it's complexities, but as a developer who must use it with teams anyways, I find there are very simple workflows with almost no cognitive load that I'm able to use for my personal projects. Not only does this give me snapshots of my projects from any point in time, but backups as well since I use a free GitLab account as well.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  Yeah sure, but for someone who's workflow started 20 years ago without Git, it shouldn't be at all surprising that they kept not using Git for a long time. There's really no reason to be surprised at all about this unless you're the kind of person who never did any programming before, like, 2010 and lack the imagination or knowledge to understand how programming could be done without it.
  - wisemanwillhear 5y ago
    I can't disagree with that. We must all make wise decisions with endless competing "priorities" and limited time. As someone who is on the other side and believes in the value of continuously growing one's skills, I want to convince people that Git has value in learning and using. More tools in our toolbelt makes us more effective craftsmen. Which the DF developer did get around to doing...
nhooyr 5y ago
No it isn't! It's so easy and effective for keeping track of your work and backups. If you want the absolute simplest way to use git, just setup an alias to do: alias gcmp="git add -A && git commit && git push" Now all you need to do is run gcmp every time you're ready to log the new state of your codebase. How could it be simpler? git only becomes more complex as your needs become more complex. At which point I'd recommend using something like https://magit.vc/ https://magit.vc/ which makes complex git operations far easier. The CLI can only take you so far effectively unfortunately.
- Yajirobe 5y ago
  git commit to which branch? git push to which branch?
  - thebean11 5y ago
    Master/main? It's a single branch workflow.
  - mypalmike 5y ago
    master, origin/master
darkarmani 5y ago
What? How it more difficult that CVS or even RCS that lies under CVS? That would have been the OS tool back in 1998.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  For lone developers in 1998 it's more likely they would just occasionally make a copy of the code somewhere. That's still more or less how I work on my own stuff.
godshatter 5y ago
I agree with this. I've been using cvs as my source control system of choice as a solo developer on my own projects for years and haven't switched to anything newer. I use git at work, but it's not worth the hassle for me at home. The workflow with cvs for me is basically "cvs update" (in case I need to know what changed) and "cvs commit". I rarely use branches. I religiously make one small-ish fix per commit and at least compile it, though I always run smaller things. If I switched to working with a team I'd definitely use git. But for just me, cvs is all I really need. The most complicated thing I do is probably tag a release or revert to a previous revision of something, which is pretty rare.
Bayart 5y ago
Basic git-fu (init, add, clean, commit, pull, push, branch, merge, stash, log) goes a long way to make your life easier. You can leave the fancy stuff for later. There are even git repos of 99% done .gitignore files for most needs [1], which is most of the setup work for a solo project. [1]: https://www.toptal.com/developers/gitignore https://www.toptal.com/developers/gitignore
- mwaitjmp 5y ago
  The official github desktop app is really nice to use as well. At least on a Mac.
  - Bayart 5y ago
    The best graphical Git client I know about is Sublime Merge, if you want to try something new.
p1necone 5y ago
I can't imagine working on any personal project without git. How often have you been working on something for a while, noticed part of it that was working before was now broken and had no idea why. If you'd been making regular commits to git you could go through recent/pending changes and work out was was different trivially. Git is also incredibly simple on single person personal projects, just git init, git add, git commit and some way to view the history and pending changes (either the command line, or most editors have a built in viewer).

Why would that be surprising? For a single programmer working alone Git is an incredibly complicated tool. P.S.: A lot of you are confusing "complicated" with "difficult".

Pet_Ant 5y ago

Or any other is the point. I mean even locally I depend on commits as save points to just allow me to go crazy and experiment with the code. I mean you can just copy the codebase elsewhere as backup but using git or mercurial is easier than that.

nolok 5y ago
Not saying you're wrong, but to explain "how is that possible over 20 years without ever blowing things up": he says he uses visual studio since the beggining (the full blown ide). Since he's working alone, he can easily use the local backup feature of it, which allow to easily rollback to automatically made copies of files, diff and cherry pick between current and backups, etc ... It's basically done automatically for you. As long as you save your project regularly and don't need to merge code with anyone, it can go a long way.

AstralStorm 5y ago

Actually extremely easy. Git add -a, git commit, git push. It only gets complicated if you try to do complicated things.

nhooyr 5y ago
I believe it's: git add -A With a capital A.

kapp_in_life 5y ago

Is it? That's when git is simplest, having a single branch and never merging removes most of the complexities of git.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
Sure, but it also removes most of the reason to use Git.
- potatoman22 5y ago
  In my experience, most people use git as version control. Branching etc is very useful, but not necessary for a 1-person project.
  - flatiron 5y ago
    It is if you want to bug fix released items but keep steam rolling features for the next version.
  - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
    I find branching useful whilst working on my own, I certainly wouldn't want to go back to CVS/SVN.
- hhjinks 5y ago
  Don't underestimate all the useful information a complete git log contains, even for solo developers. You can look years back and find out exactly why a change was made.
- emteycz 5y ago
  I invite you to try using Git as much as possible for two weeks. After a week I started using Git for branching out of my main branch to test several different ideas and then compare them at once with other developers - colleagues or friends. I think that moved the meetings and discussions with my teammates up a level.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    I have used Git when working with FOSS projects, and I tried using it for my own but it never took. The sort of workflow it is built for just isn't how I like to do things when I work on my own.

fatbird 5y ago

Change history, if nothing else. That alone brings a ton of benefit, from being able to view earlier versions, to recovering from mistakes or lost code. If you have a remote repo then, you can also have offsite backups. If you never branch, it's still massively worth it.

asciimov 5y ago
Does git have benefits, yes. Are git commands obtuse and unfriendly, yes. The problem is that git is not intuitive and isn't automatic. I've seen more people loose code to git than be saved by having their repo offsite.

wisemanwillhear 5y ago

While Git is not without it's complexities, but as a developer who must use it with teams anyways, I find there are very simple workflows with almost no cognitive load that I'm able to use for my personal projects. Not only does this give me snapshots of my projects from any point in time, but backups as well since I use a free GitLab account as well.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
Yeah sure, but for someone who's workflow started 20 years ago without Git, it shouldn't be at all surprising that they kept not using Git for a long time. There's really no reason to be surprised at all about this unless you're the kind of person who never did any programming before, like, 2010 and lack the imagination or knowledge to understand how programming could be done without it.
- wisemanwillhear 5y ago
  I can't disagree with that. We must all make wise decisions with endless competing "priorities" and limited time. As someone who is on the other side and believes in the value of continuously growing one's skills, I want to convince people that Git has value in learning and using. More tools in our toolbelt makes us more effective craftsmen. Which the DF developer did get around to doing...

nhooyr 5y ago

No it isn't! It's so easy and effective for keeping track of your work and backups. If you want the absolute simplest way to use git, just setup an alias to do: alias gcmp="git add -A && git commit && git push" Now all you need to do is run gcmp every time you're ready to log the new state of your codebase. How could it be simpler? git only becomes more complex as your needs become more complex. At which point I'd recommend using something like https://magit.vc/ https://magit.vc/ which makes complex git operations far easier. The CLI can only take you so far effectively unfortunately.

Yajirobe 5y ago
git commit to which branch? git push to which branch?
- thebean11 5y ago
  Master/main? It's a single branch workflow.
- mypalmike 5y ago
  master, origin/master

darkarmani 5y ago

What? How it more difficult that CVS or even RCS that lies under CVS? That would have been the OS tool back in 1998.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
For lone developers in 1998 it's more likely they would just occasionally make a copy of the code somewhere. That's still more or less how I work on my own stuff.

godshatter 5y ago

I agree with this. I've been using cvs as my source control system of choice as a solo developer on my own projects for years and haven't switched to anything newer. I use git at work, but it's not worth the hassle for me at home. The workflow with cvs for me is basically "cvs update" (in case I need to know what changed) and "cvs commit". I rarely use branches. I religiously make one small-ish fix per commit and at least compile it, though I always run smaller things. If I switched to working with a team I'd definitely use git. But for just me, cvs is all I really need. The most complicated thing I do is probably tag a release or revert to a previous revision of something, which is pretty rare.

Bayart 5y ago

Basic git-fu (init, add, clean, commit, pull, push, branch, merge, stash, log) goes a long way to make your life easier. You can leave the fancy stuff for later. There are even git repos of 99% done .gitignore files for most needs [1], which is most of the setup work for a solo project. [1]: https://www.toptal.com/developers/gitignore https://www.toptal.com/developers/gitignore

mwaitjmp 5y ago
The official github desktop app is really nice to use as well. At least on a Mac.
- Bayart 5y ago
  The best graphical Git client I know about is Sublime Merge, if you want to try something new.

p1necone 5y ago

I can't imagine working on any personal project without git. How often have you been working on something for a while, noticed part of it that was working before was now broken and had no idea why. If you'd been making regular commits to git you could go through recent/pending changes and work out was was different trivially. Git is also incredibly simple on single person personal projects, just git init, git add, git commit and some way to view the history and pending changes (either the command line, or most editors have a built in viewer).